Day: May 14, 2017

Every adult has a hobby. Some adults love going to the gym, for some, maybe creating artwork, or blogging. I love all these hobbies, but my favorite hobby (besides writing) is collecting Barbies Dolls.

Yes, I am a 23 year old woman who collects Barbie dolls and on occasion, play with them.

Nope, I have no shame.

Let me give you a back story about how this all happened…

This phenomenon started when I was a little girl. Barbie was the golden era of my childhood. I had over maybe 100s of barbies. I had celebrity barbies like the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Brandy and Shakira.

I also have had a pregnant Barbie doll. Yes, that doll existed until the over-sensitive parents complained that it promoted teen pregnancy.

Oh and did I tell you that on the box, it did say that Midge, the pregnant doll, was married? Most folks don’t read anymore.

I also had a Barbies pool, Corvette, and a hotel.

I remember wanting every single Barbie advertised on TV whenever there was a commercial break in between my favorite cartoon shows.

My childhood was completed and blissful until my step father thrown them away in a dumpster behind my back. I was only 11 and that was a dark moment of my childhood. All I had left was my Barbie hotel. My step father few months later asked me if I was ready to get rid of my barbie hotel and I said,”Might as well since my hotel has been out of business for the past few months because no longer have customers.” After giving it away, my relationship with my step-father changed. The trust and the father-daughter relationship was ruined.

So life went on…,but the phenomena did not stop.

During my high school years, whenever I would go shopping, I would go the toy section to check out the new Barbies on display when I had the chance.

During my freshman year in college, I decided to buy a Barbie doll for the first time in six years. I bought a doll, brought it home, but would hide them whenever my parents, friends, or roommate were present. The only two people that knew about my secret was my grandmother and my then-boyfriend at that time.

So throughout my college years, I would buy a doll for special occasions like my birthday or Christmas. Sometimes I would buy one just for the fun of it because I had a job.

I was not the only one in the family that loves to collect dolls. My Great Aunt Mary also collects Barbie dolls. She has a house full of Barbies from the 1970s to present. I love going to her house seeing all the dolls from every decade. It is also fun to share my collection with her.

After my mother’s divorce, I finally confessed to my (ex) step-father about collecting dolls and expressed how I felt about what he did when I was little. He admitted that since that dark day, he regretted it because he had a chance to build a relationship with me and ruined it. He also realized how doll collecting was the norm. I understood why he has thrown my Barbies away. He thought I was too old for them and expected me to be like any other pre-teen worrying about sports, house parties, and boyfriends. In result of the conversation, I forgave him and he sent me a peace offering by giving me a Harley Quinn doll.

Currently, I am still collecting dolls. I plan on building my own Barbie Dream house from scratch because I have never been a fan of the Barbie homes that is made of out plastic (except the Barbie hotel). I would love to form a Barbie collecting club. Who knows? A girl can still dream and make it happen.

Life Lesson #86: It’s your thing, do what you want to do, starting with what makes YOU happy first.